Page 200 of Risking the Pucking Defense

Surely not.

Surrounded by water, I can’t move fast enough, and it feels like an eternity before I manage to spin around and see what—or who—has captured everyone’s attention.

My eyes widen and my chin drops, because fuck.

She’s here. And not only is she here, but she’s wearing that red bikini.

I am utterly fucked.

56

HAILEE

Isit staring out the window of my office, wishing I were somewhere else.

I almost caved, pulled on my swimsuit, and said fuck it to work and my responsibilities. I could have. I’d been invited by almost everyone I’ve seen over the last few days. Even Killer stopped me in the hallway to ask if I was going to Coach’s barbecue. That set off alarm bells because, as far as I’m aware, Rett is the only member of the team who knows what’s going on, and he’s not brave enough to start spilling my secrets—or at least, I’m banking on the fact that he isn’t. The truth is that while I’ve spent a few months fighting some of his battles for him and trying to protect his reputation, I don’t really know him.

The arena is weird on days when the team isn’t here. Despite the fact that they’re on an entirely different floor and spend most of their time fully focused on their training, there’s always a different atmosphere when they’re in.

Today, the mood around the front offices is weirdly somber. I’m pretty sure most of them don’t even know there’s a party going on that we’re not at, but there’s something in the air for sure.

Dragging my eyes back to my computer, I try to focus on what I need to do instead of daydreaming about what Hayden could be doing right now.

It’s stupid to miss him when he’s right across town, but knowing that I could be there only makes it worse.

I make it through a few emails when there’s a knock on my office door.

I frown, because Maisie should be out there, intercepting visitors.

With a pained sigh, I call out for whoever it is to enter and force a somewhat friendly smile on my face.

The door pushes open, and the second I see who it is, my chin drops.

“I hope you have time for a visitor,” Bea says as she closes the door behind her and moves toward the chair opposite me.

“What…what are you doing here? You should be eating burgers and getting a tan.”

“Yeah, I was. And I will be again. I just…something wasn’t sitting right with us being there and you being here.”

“It’s my job, Bea.”

“Yeah, no. I get that. I do. And I also understand you wanting to keep things with you and Hayden on the down low. It’s just…he looks so sad and⁠—”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“He’s missing his girl,” she says softly.

“Did you just come here to guilt trip me?” I don’t mean for it to come out quite so snappy, but if Bea is taken aback, she doesn’t show it.

“Hailee,” she sighs. She doesn’t need to say anything else; I see it all in her eyes. “Life is too short to be scared of the what-ifs. Tell me that you genuinely want to be sitting here right now when there is a whole backyard full of people at Coach’s house who want you there, and I’ll leave and never mention it again.”

My mouth opens to tell her that this is where I need to be right now, but I can’t force the words out.

The truth is that I want to be there. I want to hang out with Hayden and our friends.

“I think…I think I’m falling for him, Bea.”

Her smile grows.